Paper's Bright Future

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

by Greg Kishbaugh

Despite the maturity of the marketplace, it appears that paper-based packaging is still poised for further growth in the future. There are “significant growth opportunities” for paper-based packaging as changing lifestyles, environmental concerns and improving techniques continue to have an impact, according to a new industry report from Smithers Pira called Paper-Based Packaging Trends To 2019. The key drivers for paper-based packaging growth, according to the report, are growing GDP, changing demographics, sustainability and recycling concerns, technological advances, security and the ongoing drive for added value, which is driving innovation in luxury packaging.

Paper and board represented 35 percent of the world’s packaging sales in 2013, a value of $280 billion, with cartonboard and containerboard 31 percent of the packaging market. One of the main contributors toward the continued growth of paper-based packaging is its environmental advantages over other forms of packaging. As increasing numbers of consumers state that sustainable options are important to them when shopping, paper-based packaging is seen as an increasingly attractive choice. In luxury packaging, paper and board has the biggest share of the market by value and is growing by an average of 4.4 percent a year. A Smithers Pira spokesperson said that packaging could best be described as “a bright spot for paper and board.”